The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has clarified that it did not sign the communiqué that formally ended its recent strike against Dangote Refinery.

The union suspended its nationwide action on Wednesday following government intervention but maintained that its key concerns remain unresolved.

Appearing on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Thursday, PENGASSAN President, Festus Osifo, insisted that the document circulated after the Abuja meeting was not an agreement.

“If you see that communiqué, we did not sign it. Normally, it is supposed to be signed by three parties. We declined because we felt certain aspects were not acceptable to us,” he explained during the programme monitored in Lagos.

Osifo stressed that the communiqué was merely a statement from the Minister of Labour and Employment, acting in his role as chief conciliator.

“When we subjected it to our NEC, we had to prioritise. Some media outlets claimed we were only concerned about check-off dues. That is false. What we prioritised was ensuring our members could return to work and provide for their families,” he said.

The union leader emphasised PENGASSAN’s position clearly: “Take the people back to the refinery.”

According to him, Dangote initially resisted reabsorbing the disengaged workers until government pressure forced a compromise. He also dismissed allegations of sabotage against the sacked staff.

“The release that Dangote made, accusing workers of sabotaging the economy, was totally incorrect. If we had allowed that label to stand, those 800 people would never secure jobs in future. That stigma would have stayed forever,” Osifo said, describing the removal of that accusation as a “big win”.

He stressed that the struggle was not about the union itself but about Nigerian workers whose employment was abruptly terminated for exercising their right to association.

“If Dangote does not do the needful, our tools are always available. We will never get tired of fighting for what is right. We existed for 50 years before the Dangote Refinery came on stream,” he added.

On Wednesday, Osifo announced in Abuja that the strike had been suspended after meetings with the National Security Adviser and Dangote management.

Although he admitted that “grey areas” remain in the communiqué, he said the suspension was done in good faith. However, he warned that the strike would resume without notice if the resolutions were not honoured.

Earlier, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Mohammed Dingyadi, confirmed that both parties had reached a compromise. He stated that over 800 disengaged workers would be reassigned to subsidiaries of the Dangote Group without loss of pay.

“Unionisation is a legal right of workers,” the minister affirmed. “No worker will be victimised for participating in the dispute.”